NAROWAL: Bamboo is not only used domestically but it is also exported to other countries and if the government patronises its production and business, it can be a big source of poverty alleviation and strengthening of the economy.

Bamboo used to be cultivated in certain areas and sandy places in the past but now it is cultivated with proper care like other crops to get the maximum possible produce. High quality bamboo is cultivated at more than 85 places in district Narowal, including villages of Thillay Kalan, Wazirpur, Kandhala and Porokey. It is also cultivated in districts of Kasur, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin and Sargodha.

The bamboo crop is ready within a year while the annual cost of cultivation of one acre of bamboo is just Rs15,000 to Rs20,000. As is the case with sugarcane, bamboo roots are sown in the land at certain distance, the crop is manured only once a year and watered thrice a year. It does not need medicines or chemicals spray and it can bear severe weather conditions.

One acre of bamboo crop is sold at the rate of Rs200,000 to Rs400,000. Three to five thousand bamboos are produced on one acre of land. Labourers are paid Rs17 per bamboo for cutting and cleaning before they are shifted to the factories where bamboos are cut in different sizes and straightened with the help of furnace and machines. Wages are fixed with labourers for straightening and painting the bamboos and the rates range from Rs5 to Rs18 per bamboo. Each labourer can earn Rs1,000 to 3,000 per day. The bamboos are sold to shopkeepers on the wholesale rate of Rs4 to Rs9 per foot while a bamboo ladder of 10 feet is sold in the market at the price ranging from Rs500 to Rs600.

Besides production of ladders, bamboos are used in scaffoldings, construction of buildings, animal shelters and poultry farms. The villagers use bamboos to fix mosquito nets around their cots in the fields. Bamboo furniture is also used in houses for its beauty.

“My 10-member family has been working in the bamboo factory for the last 15 years. Some years ago, there was no business activity and I was living from hand to mouth. Now Pakistan has started exporting bamboo, so I earn Rs1,000 to Rs3,000 per day. Now I am happy and I save some money also,” labourer Muhammad Akram says.

Shaikh Ansar Ali, the owner of a bamboo factory, says the bamboo of Pakistan is of good quality and it is in big demand in the UAE, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries, therefore, it’s produce is increasing day by day.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018